


Tears and Tendrils

by Starstorme



Category: Jack and Jill (Nursery Rhyme)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-27
Updated: 2018-11-27
Packaged: 2019-09-01 08:23:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16761514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starstorme/pseuds/Starstorme
Summary: Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of waterJack fell down and broke his crown, another for the slaughterMASSIVE CONTENT WARNINGS!! The title should be a pretty big hint...





	Tears and Tendrils

“Jack, I’m no doctor, but this is pretty bad.”

“I know…” he murmured, slumped over on the armchair. Jill had cleaned the injury for him with whatever water they had left, which somehow made it hurt more, if that was even possible. Cursed rocks. Screw pebbles. Why were pebbles even a thing?

* * *

The injury healed up pretty fast. But Jack didn’t feel better as it healed- in fact, he seemed to get worse. He’d be constantly weak and tired, obviously displayed by the fact that he put up absolutely no resistance when Jill gave him herbal medicine. If he had energy, he’d be fighting to the end to avoid taking those bitter green pills.

But it was the evening of the second day that Jill really began to worry. Jack had been looking progressively worse throughout the day- too tired to even move from the bed, shivering even though every blanket in the house was piled over him. His face was pale and his skin cold to the touch. It was hard to tell whether he was asleep or awake most of the time, but Jill occasionally woke him up to give him something to eat or drink. It wouldn’t stay down long- it seemed Jack’s stomach was keen to keep itself devoid of anything that might be good for his health.

They lived way too far away to call a doctor- they didn’t even know where the nearest doctor was. After a while, it was getting really hard for Jack to breathe and Jill was left just holding him, out of ideas, with nothing she could do but make sure he was as comfortable as possible and pray that this wasn’t the end.

And finally, she told him she loved him. 

“Jill,” he said weakly, his voice barely a whisper. “I-”

* * *

Jack was rudely interrupted by a... tentacle bursting out his mouth? There was a slithering feeling up this throat, and then suddenly a pink tentacle dangled out his mouth. Through his hazy vision, he figured something was wrong and he should probably be panicking, but he was just too tired to care at this point. If he died now, he’d die happy. Jill loved him. That was all that mattered.

For her part, Jill was screaming and jumping back the moment she saw the thing slither out her lover’s mouth. His body was limp, and another tentacle slipping out alongside the first sent him lurching forwards as it forced its way out his mouth. While Jack was exhausted and apathetic, Jill was more than capable of panicking. She had no idea what to do, but screamed more when thinner tendrils began creeping out his eye sockets. And in the back of her mind, she wondered what Jack had intended to say. Did he love her like she loved him? Did it make it better or worse if he loved her back?

Jack, dazed, finally acknowledged that if Jill was screaming, he should probably be worried too. The panic settled in- his heart beat faster and the edges of his vision tinted black. It felt like he was burning and a scream choked in his throat as more tentacles shot out every orifice in his body. Jack looked at her pleadingly, tears (and tendrils) in his eyes. Jill held his gaze, both of them terrified, both of them fearing that this would be the end for Jack.

Jill finally made the connection between Jack’s head injury and the strange symptoms. Maybe something had gotten into his head through the crack. Some sort of… pivot? Prion? Was that the word? She tried hard to remember back to science lessons.

With shaking hands, she took the bandage off his head, trying to ignore the slimy feeling every time one of the wriggling tentacles touched her. Jack’s large eyes were another distraction- he was in so much pain, and it would probably hurt even more soon.

Two eyes peered out at her through the crack in his head. Jill froze at the sight of them- and then her instinct took over as she took out her pocket knife, drove it in between the eyes and twisted.

The eyes slowly closed. Mildly disgusted but more confused at this point, Jill grabbed an eyeball and started pulling the creature out of Jack’s head. She felt him tense in pain and then his eyes rolled back as he passed out from the pain. Just as well. After removing quite a lot of pink blob thing, there was still more and Jill decided it would hurt too much to get it all out through the crack in his head. Cringing, she severed it, allowing her to get the rest out through other openings. She decided to do the ones in his mouth first. They were largest and probably constricting his breathing.

No matter how much she pulled, there was always more. Jack had started waking up and was now awake but but too weak to hold himself up, tears in his eyes as he silently begged for this to be over already, or at least for him to be asleep. Jill finally finished pulling tentacles from his mouth, looking at the disgusting pink heap of slime on the ground. She took the last of the tendrils from his eyes and cradled him, running fingers reassuringly through his hair. 

“It’s okay now, Jack, it’s all over.” 

“Hurts…” he whimpered, trying to focus on her touch. And she just held him, coaxing him to sleep by running hands over his eyes. 

“Jack, I love you,” she said softly.

Even tired, malnourished and traumatised, Jack managed a slight smile. Suddenly, the world seemed like a wonderful place. Everything was okay because Jill loved him.

When Jack was finally asleep, Jill started cleaning up. She frowned at the stains on the floor left behind by the dead creature.

They’d have to go fetch a pail of water tomorrow.

**Author's Note:**

> Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water  
> Jack fell down and broke his crown, another for the slaughter  
> Limbs in every orifice and tendrils in his eyes  
> But Jill knew she could save her love before his sad demise
> 
> She pulled out all the tentacles from her dark-haired sweetheart’s mouth  
> And cradled him and kissed him sweet so there would be no doubt  
> That she cherished him and loved him, and he was hers to keep  
> And she cradled him and kissed him sweet till he was fast asleep.


End file.
